Let's face it, most of us don't have the budget required to make every square inch of our home designer perfect. And if you live in a rented space, landlord restrictions, factory grade flooring, and lack of architectural features can make it difficult to even visualize a well-appointed domain. Yet this does not diminish our desire - and need - for beautiful, functional living spaces.

Social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram flood our eyes, and minds with perfectly staged rooms, and meticulously organized pantries. The only problem is that most of the spaces in the photos look nothing like our "real life" homes. Mood boards are the perfect aides.

A mood board serves several purposes. It provides a visual representation of the overall feel of the space. It can also serve as a great reference when shopping for furniture and accessories, which in turn, helps the homeowner or apartment dweller to remain focused. For those with limited budgets, a mood board it inspires hope.

Recently, a newlywed couple approached me with the desire to create a stylish office in a home they're renting. Since the office will be used for the wife's party planning business, the space needed to look permanent - even if it wasn't going remain so. It also needed to inspire creativity and productivity.

The landlord kindly agreed to allow the couple to paint the walls a pale shade of pink, and to change out the light fixture. With the exception of a few pieces of artwork, no other changes to the room were allowed. Below is the raw, unedited space we were working with.

It's easy to understand how a person could find it hard to visualize a beautiful space here. The room, although spacious, is rather dark, and has small windows. The lighting is also inadequate for an office space. Using the homeowners existing items as a base, and a free mood board app available through Polyvore, I was able to create the vision board below:

The objects selected for this mood board range from $6 to $800. The brilliance of a mood board is that it keeps the rooms' maximum potential in front of the couple's eyes, and allows them to search for less expensive options. Should the clients decide to substitute a few of the items featured for something else, they will quickly be able to see if the substitute choice will work with the scheme. Genius!

In a future post, I'll share with you the final result of this project. I'll also share the final cost of all the items featured.

Do you have a room that you'd like to have styled on a mood board, and featured on the blog? Send me a photo, along with a description of your vision for the space at jadoreledecor@gmail.com. One participant will be selected to have virtual room makeover - a $50 value - completely FREE!

I can't wait to receive your pics!

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I definitely understand the struggle of decorating in a rented space. It's hard to feel invested in making the space your own when it isn't really yours. Painting the walls, for example, is not something I'm able to do at the moment so I have to get creative in other ways.

Reply

Ola

10/7/2016 11:43:03 am

Thanks for reading Nellwyn. If you'd like, I'm happy to give you a few ideas. My email is at the end of the blog post. Or please use the contact form. I'd love to work with you.